Thursday, December 08, 2011
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Marines train to capture vessels at sea
Without the F-35 the Marine Corps brand is weakened?
The debate over the F-35 is starting to spiral out of control. Want proof? Read the entire article but check out this blurb from National Defense....
Tactical aviation is the Marine Corps’ top modernization priority, Dunford said Dec. 7. “We haven’t bought new airplanes in a decade,” he said.I get the advocacy for the F-35. But the thought that the Marine Corps is nothing without it is beyond annoying.
The unprecedented involvement of the highest ranked Marine in a weapons acquisition program is proof that the stakes in F-35B — a fighter/bomber aircraft that takes off and lands vertically like a helicopter — have become too high to leave anything to chance.
“Losing the F-35B would really collapse the entire structure of the Marine Corps,” said Thomas Donnelly, a defense and security analyst at the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute.
The bottom line is that without F-35B, Marine aviation operations would be reduced to just helicopters. “They would become a consumer of other people’s firepower rather than a producer of firepower,” Donnelly said Dec. 7 at a Center for Strategic and International Studies forum, in Washington, D.C.
Donnelly defended the Marines’ all-in strategy to ensure the aircraft survives both technical and budgetary challenges. A Pentagon budget crunch currently threatens the entire Joint Strike Fighter program — which also includes Air Force and Navy variants.
Marines should go even further in their advocacy of F-35B and make a case that Marine aviation can at times be more valuable than Navy carrier-based aviation, said Donnelly. “A large-deck amphibious ship with 30 stealthy jump jets may be more productive and capable in some cases than a large-deck Navy aircraft carrier with 60 F/A-18s,” he said. “That’s something that we should think about.”
Its obscene.
I want the airplane. I believe we need the airplane. But if we don't get it then we'll figure out another way.
That's what the Marine Corps is all about. I said in an earlier post that the Program Manager said in Grunt talk that the F-35 was fucked up beyond belief and that it needed to be sorted out and get its bearings before marching on.
Seems like HQMC needs to do the same. The only weapon system that identifies the Marine Corps is the Rifleman. Everything else is just a tool to achieve the mission.
NOTE:
Marine Air...God love ya, but to say they haven't bought a new airplane in a decade is a bit of a farce. We still have Marines getting the job done in AAV's that were first designed in the 70's. How about a little love for the ground side?
F-35...the hot spots and the Admiral's statement.
A couple of things.
1. I wrote Lockheed Martin for info about the good Admiral's statement about production slowdown and the hotspots and have yet to get an answer. I DID get a response but just to acknowledge reciept of my e-mail and that they would be getting back to me....that was Monday.
2. We have this statement by Sufa Viper on ARES...
Some food for thought, when thinking about the Cracks of doom (by they way they are hot spots at this point, not cracks).Long story short.
The F-16 has a structural distinction known as Pre- and Post-Block. Pre-Block aircraft are considered to be structurally "flawed" and immature, where as Post-Block aircraft are considered structurally sound and mature.
The dividing line is Block 40. So that means that every Block 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30/32 is structurally "flawed." More than 2,000 of those blocks were built. And yet EPAF countries still fly Block 15 and USAF still flies Block 25/30/32.
Almost all have some form of structural repair on them, and that is long before they reach the design life of 8,000 FH. Yet, I think you would have to be nuts if you think the "flawed" F-16's aren't effective fighters.
Sufa Viper
I don't have an answer on this thing. I'm confused as all out doors and I feel like I'm getting spun both ways by critics and supporters.
If Sufa Viper is right, then why is the Admiral so alarmed? Why would he want production slowed? This whole thing is starting to take on an air of gamesmanship and not having any basis in reality.
UPDATE:
Ok.
I'm heading toward becoming pissed.
I'm not ready to join the throngs of haters but I mean seriously? Check out DoD Buzz for the story but this tidbit has me steaming.
How healthy is the world’s biggest defense program? Secretary Panetta himself plans to head down Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., for his first in-person encounter with the jet and the people who make it possible, DoD announced Wednesday. We just don’t know exactly when that’s going to happen.First we have the Program Manager saying that the program is FUBAR.
The Pentagon first announced that Panetta was planning on heading to Pax River on Friday, but then it followed up with another announcement that something had come up and he had to postpone his trip until “early next year.” Still, it’s the thought that counts, right?
Then we have the SecDef planning a trip to PaxRiver.
Can we all get on one page, get the messaging together and get me some fucking answers about the status of this program?
Marines and Pearl Harbor...
A day that saw the US Marines engaging in battle against a predicted foe. A day that saw Marines distinguish themselves. Sgt. Micheletto is just one such hero from that early battle of WW2. We must never forget.
Sgt Carlo A. Micheletto had turned 26 years old less than two months before Japanese planes strafed Ewa. He was recommended for a letter of commendation, but was awarded a Bronze Star.
Marine Corps Historical Collection
----------------------------------------
Another Marine who distinguished himself during the third strafing attack was Sergeant Carlo A. Micheletto of Marine Utility Squadron (VMJ) 252. During the first Japanese attack that morning, Micheletto proceeded at once to VMJ-252's parking area and went to work, helping in the attempts to extinguish the fires that had broken out amongst the squadron's parked utility planes. He continued in those labors until the last strafing attack began. Putting aside his fire-fighting equipment and grabbing a rifle, he took cover behind a small pile of lumber, and heedless of the heavy machine-gunning, continued to fire at the attacking planes until a burst of enemy fire struck him in the head and killed him instantly.
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